Tube holder and paste dispenser



w. HARRISON, JR 3,065,881

TUBE HOLDER AND PASTE DISPENSER Filed May 8, 1961 INVENTOR W/ L L m M HARR/soM/a ATTORNEY 3,065,831 Patented Nov. 27, 1962 tire 3,065,881 TUBE HOLDER AND PASTE DISPENSER William Harrison, Jr., 467 4th St., San Bernardino, Calif. Filed May 8, 1961, Ser. No. 108,350 3 Claims. (Cl. 222-400) This invention relates to a novel holder for detachably containing a collapsible tube of the type conventionally employed for containing toothpaste, shaving cream or similar commodities, and which holder is provided with manually actuated means for progressively collapsing the tube toward its discharge end for completely dispensing the contents thereof without waste and in a sanitary and efficient manner.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a holder and disperser of extremely simple construction which may be very economically manufactured and sold and which will be extremely ecient for its intended purpose and very durable in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a holder and dispenser including readily removable and detachable parts which are attachable to and detachable from a collapsible paste tube to facilitate applying the paste tube to the holder and removal of the tube therefrom.

Another object of the invention is to provide a holder and dispenser having a uniquely constructed unit on which the tube is wound for dispensing the contents thereof and which is especially constructed to facilitate detachably anchoring said unit to the crimped end of the paste tube and for detachably mounting said unit within a case portion of the holder for rotational and translational movement relative to the case.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

FIGURE l is aside elevational view, partly broken away, of the holder and dispenser;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 2*2 of FIGURE l; l

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view through the holder and dispenser, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3--3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view thereof;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view, looking from right to left of FIGURE 4, and

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the lineline 6 6 of FIGURE 2.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the tube holder and paste dispenser in its entirety is designated generally 8 and includes an elongated case 9 which is divided in half longitudinally to form the sections 10 and 11, which will hereinafter be referred to as the rear section and front section, respectively. Said sections have complementary end walls 12 which are connected by a hinge 13 including a spring 14 which is anchored to portions of the sections 16 and 11 for normally urging said sections toward a closed position, as seen in full lines in FIGURE l and in FIGURE 5. The sections 10 and 11 have substantially parallel walls 15 and 16, respe-ctively, constituting a rear wall and front Wall of the case 9. The sections 10 and 11 have coplanar side walls 17 which are disposed in abutting en gagement with one another when the case is closed, as seen in FIGURES 3 and 5, and coplanar opposite side walls 18 the adjacent edges of which are recessedy to provide a relatively wide slot 19 which extends to `adjacent the ends of the case 9. The case 9 is provided I with internally disposed coplanar partitions 20, one of which constitutes a part of the section 1d and the other of which constitutes a part of the section 1l. The partitions 20 are located adjacent the wall sections 17 and parallel thereto and are spaced from one another to provide a slot 21 which extends to adjacent the ends of the case and which aligns with and is somewhat narrower than the slot 19.

The other ends of the sections 10 and 11 have end Walls 22 which abut one another and are disposed coplanar when the case is closed and each of which is provided with an externally flanged semicircular notch or recess 23. A closure member 24 is hingedly connected at 25 to the end wall 22 and rear wall 15 and is provided with a spring 26 for normally retaining the closure member in ilush engagement with the outer sides of the end walls 22. The closure member 24 has an opening 27 covered by a plate 28 forming a socket in which the two external flangesof the hanged recesses 23 lit snugly when the case 9 is in a closed position and the closure member 24 is in a closed position, as seen in full lines in FIGURE l. The free end of the closure 24 has a downwardly curved lip 29 which protrudes from the bottom ends of the front Wall 15.

The case 9, in addition to constituting the tube holder, also constitutes a part of the paste dispenser which additionally includes a winding key unit 3i). The unit 30 includes a shaft 31 having a disc shaped head 32 at one end thereof. The shaft 31 has a slot 33, 34 extending from adjacent the head 32 to near the other end thereof and which extends diametrically therethrough. The portion 33 is substantially larger in cross section in both directions than the portion 34, and the portions 33 and 34 open outwardly of diametrically opposite parts of the shaft 31. The shaft 31 is nearly circular in cross section from the head 32 to near its other end, but the slot portion 33 thereof is flared slightly away from the slot portion 34, as seen in dotted lines in FIGURE 6. The end of the shaft disposed remote from the head 32 is formed by two bar portions 35 defining a slot portion 36 therebetween which is a continuaton of the slot 33, 34 and which is of nearly uni form width in cross section, as seen in FIGURES l and 3. The slot 33, 34 is formed entirely in the part of the shaft which is of substantially circular cross section and which is located between the head 32 and the bar portions 35.

The winding key unit 30 also includes a knob 37 in cluding a disc shaped head 38 at one end thereof and a disc shaped flange 39 at its opposite end. The head 38 and llange 39 are connected by hub portions 40 and 41. The hub portion 41 is located between the hub portion 49 and the flange 39 and is of smaller diameter than said hub portion 40. The knob 37 has a bore 42 which extends centrally through the parts 38, 39, 40 and 41 thereof and which is preferably square in cross section. The bar portions 35, by a slight compressing force being applied thereto, will assume positions relative to one another to fit snugly in the bore 42 and to thereby restrict the shaft 31 to cause it to assume its full line position of FIGURE 6 and whereby the slot portion 33 will be restricted in Width as illustrated in full lines in this View. Before the knob 37 is applied to the shaft end 35, a closed crimped end 43 of a conventional collapsible paste tube 44 is inserted lengthwise through the slot 36 and into the slot portion 33 and so that a part of the tube 44, located adjacent the crimped end 43, will extend outwardly through the slot portion 34. Accordingly, thereafter when the knob 37 is applied to the portion 35, as previously described, the crimped portion 43 will be effectively clamped in the slot portion 33. This is accomplished while the winding key unit 30 is removed from the case 9. The winding unit 30, with the tube 44 attached thereto, is then inserted into the case 9 after the closure member 24 has been swung to its dotted line position of FIGURE l so that the front section 11 can be swung to its open dotted line position. The winding unit 30 is positioned adjacent the case end 12 with the head 32 disposed between the side wall 17 and the partitions 20, and with the flange 39 disposed within the case 9 and adjacent the other side wall 1S. A threaded neck 45 of the tube 44, from which a conventional closure cap, not shown, has been removed, is positioned in the flanged recess or notch 23 of the section 1t?. The spring 14 is then permitted to return the section 11 to its full line position of FIGURE 1 to effect closing of the case 9 and with the neck or nozzle 45 clamped in the semicircular flanged recesses 23 of the two sections lt and 11. The closure 24 is then allowed to resume a closed position by the action of its spring 26 so that the external anges or bosses of the notches 23 are received in the socket 27. Thus, the closure 24, by its engagement against the end of the nozzle 45, as seen in FIG URE 2, seals said nozzle and also holds the case 9 closed while said closure is in its full line closed position of FIGURE 1.

The head 32 fits loosely in the space 46 of the case 9 for rotational and translational movement therein, a portion of the shaft 31 located adjacent said head 32 is similarly disposed in the slot 21, the hub portion 41 is similarly disposed in the slot 19 and the flange 39 is disposed on the inner side of and spaced from the side wall 18 for free rotational and translational movement within the case. It will also be noted that when the key member 30 is thus disposed in the case 9, that the case effectively functions to prevent the knob 37 from being disengaged from the roller 30.

When utilizing the holder and dispenser 8, the closure 24 is swung outwardly to or beyond its dotted line position of FIGURE 1. If the tube 24- contains toothpaste, a toothbrush, not shown, can be positioned immediately beyond the nozzle 45. The finger grip 33 is grasped for rotating the winding unit 30 for partially winding the tube 44- on the shaft 31 and so that a part of the contents of the tube 44 will be exuded through the nozzle 45. When a desired amount of the contents has been dispensed in this manner, the closure 24 is allowed to resume its closed position, and this operation can be repeated until all of the contents of the tube 44 has been dispensed therefrom. The case 9 can then be opened, as previously described, for removing the Winding unit 3() and empty tube 44. The knob 37 is then detached from the shaft portion 35 and the wound tube can then be slidably withdrawn off of the shaft end 35. A fresh tube 44 can then be applied to the winding mechanism 30, as previously described, for reloading the holder and dispenser.

The holder or dispenser S may be secured to any suitable upright surface, not shown, by attachment of its rear section 10 thereto so that the case 9 will be in substantially an upright position with the end wall 22 constituting the lower end thereof. The case 9 and winding unit 30 may be formed of various materials and may be constructed in different sizes,

Various other modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. A tube holder and paste dispenser comprising an elongated case formed of sections each extending from end-to-end thereof, a winding unit detachably mounted in the case, said winding unit including a shaft having a head at one end thereof, said case having means detachably confining said head therein when the case is closed for rotational movement and for translational movement of the shaft and head longitudinally of the case and with the other shaft end extending outwardly from the case, said shaft having a slot opening outwardly of the last mentioned end thereof adapted to receive the crimped end of a paste tube by insertion into the slot endwise of the shaft, a knob forming a part of the winding unit detachably and nonrotatively engaging said last mentioned shaft end for closing the open end of the slot, said knob including a part disposed externally of the case and a second part confined within said case when the case is in a closed position for rotational movement and translational movement relative to the case and for retaining the knob connected to the case and shaft, said slot including a first longitudinally extending portion in which the crimped end of the tube is received and a second narrower longitudinally extending portion through which a part of the tube, located adjacent said crimped end, extends, for nondetachably connecting the tube to the winding unit when the knob is applied to the shaft, and said case having an end provided with means in which the nozzle of the tube is detachably clamped whereby said tube will be wound from the crimped end thereof on the winding unit when the winding unit is revolved and moved longitudinally of the case for collapsing the tube and dispensing the contents thereof through the nozzle.

A tube holder and paste dispenser comprising an elongated case formed of sections each extending from end-to-end thereof, a winding unit detachably mounted in the case, said winding unit including a shaft having a head at one end thereof, said case having means detachably confining said head therein when the case is closed for rotational movement and for translational movement of the shaft and head longitudinally of the case and with the other shaft end extending outwardly from the case, said shaft having a slot opening outwardly of the last mentioned end thereof adapted to receive the crimped end of a paste tube by insertion into the slot endwise of the shaft, a knob forming a part of the winding unit detachably and nonrotatively engaging said last mentioned shaft end for closing the open end of the slot, said knob including a part disposed externally of the case and a second part conned within said case when the case is in a closed position for rotational movement and translational movement relative to the case and for retaining the knob connected to the case and shaft, said slot including a first longitudinally extending portion in which the crimped end of the tube is received and a second narrower longitudinally extending portion through which a part of the tube, located adjacent said crimped end, extends, for nondetachably connecting the tube to the winding unit when the knob is applied to the shaft, said case having an end provided with means in which the nozzle of the tube is detachably clamped whereby said tube will be wound from the crimped end thereof on the winding unit when the winding unit is revolved and moved longitudinally of the case for collapsing the tube and dispensing the contents thereof through the nozzle, and said knob having a bore in which the last mentioned shaft end is detachably received, said bore being sized to constrict said shaft end for constricting the slot for clamping the crimped tube end in said first portion of the slot.

3. A tube holder and paste dispenser comprising an elongated case formed of sections each extending from end-to-end thereof, a winding unit detachably mounted in the case, said winding unit including a shaft having a head at one end thereof, said case having means dctachably confining said head therein when the case is closed for rotational movement and for translational movement of the shaft and head longitudinally of the case and with the other shaft end extending outwardly from the case, said shaft having a slot opening outwardly of the last mentioned end thereof adapted to receive the crimped end of a paste tube by insertion into the slot endwise of the shaft, a knob forming a part of the winding unit detachably and nonrotatively engaging said last mentioned shaft end for 5 closing the open end of the slot, said knob including a part disposed externally of the case and a second part confined within said case when the case is in a closed position for rotational movement and translational movement relative to the case and for retaining the knob connected to the case and shaft, said case having an end provided with means in which the nozzle of the tube is detachably clamped whereby said tube will be wound from the crimped end thereof on the Winding unit when the winding unit is revolved and moved longitudinally of the case for collapsing the tube and dispensing the contents thereof through the nozzle, and said knob having a bore in which the last mentioned end of the shaft is detachably received, said bore being sized to constrict the slotted portion of the shaft for clamping the crimped tube end therein. v

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

